Sugar, Curiosity, and Rain
by viverrinae
Summary: /I'm really bad at summaries/ Tsukidori Tzando thought she was just an ordinary kunoichi, doomed to a life of the mundane. Since her days at the academy, all her friends had become all but distance memories. When she's assigned a mission with old friends, things begin to change for the better. A story about reigniting friendships and finding love. Main pair: ShikaxOC,some KibaxOC.
1. 1 Awakening

a/n - I realized the way the title and summary was originally written, it looked like smut and lemons in disguise. This is not a lemony smutty story, but there will be romantic scenes later on. It's more about my OC, who is young and slowly falling into a boring and repetitive life and how she stops that and regains friendships. I also I realized I uploaded the original two chapters very quickly and unfortunately, I didn't proofread any of it. I have hopefully made it better! Please review and fav! I do not claim any ownership on the Naruto franchise.

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The coffee cup hit the counter a little harder than Tsukidori had meant for it to. She was just lost in thought and forgot how heavy the cup was. The loud clank broke her out of the trance she had been in. Her thoughts on the mission she was assigned to. She'd been assigned to a four-man squad for a B-Rank mission. It wasn't her first B-Rank mission, per se, but it was the first that held some sort of importance that she wasn't simply back-up on. She had been training exceptionally hard lately, and it felt like Lady Fifth was noticing. She hadn't been given the mission details, yet. Her instructions were report to the Hokage tomorrow afternoon to receive the details.

"Tsukidori?" a voice pulled her away from the coffee cup and the thoughts of missions. It was her mother, Aimi. Her mother was a small creature with a demanding presence. It'd always been just her mother and Tsukidori, for as long as Tsukidori could remember. Her father had been killed-in-action long before Tsukidori's mind had developed enough to form concrete memories. "Are you ok?"

"Huh? Yeah, yeah, I'm fine! Just thinking about my mission." Tsukidori waved her mother's concern off.

"Another mission? You should be thinking about finding a nice boy and settling down. I want to meet my grandchildren before I die." Her mother groaned as she appeared around the corner. She'd come from the hallway and she was dressed in nothing but a towel on her body, and a towel on her head. This wasn't an uncommon occurrence with her mother. She often spent a lot of her time in the bathroom, fussing over her beauty. Hours were spent on her hair, makeup, and nails. She was painstakingly meticulous with the details. Along with that, Aimi was exceptionally proud of her body. She held no shame over her body and didn't have a single problem exposing herself in her hour, even when guest were over. It was because of this, Tsukidori had stopped inviting friends over as a child. Not that her friends' parents would have let them over after learning about Tsukidori's mother's habits.

Aimi was curvy and busty, but her nose was slightly crooked and her blue eyes were too close together. Tsukidori looked a lot like her mother, but she didn't inherit her large chest and extreme curves. In one way, Tsukidori was a toned down version of her mother. Her hair was light honey brown, just like Aimi's but her eyes weren't brown like her mother's. Tsukidori supposed she acquired her father's brown eyes. Additionally, her nose was not crooked and her eyes were perfectly placed. Her face was proportionate and easy on the eyes.

She blushed from her perch on a stool at the counter, "W-what?!" She was taken aback by her mother's suggestion. It wasn't anything, new how her mother behaved, but it never failed to leave Tsukidori feeling mortified. "Mom, you barely look a day over twenty! I don't think we are short on time here." Though Tsukidori didn't know the precise age of her mom, it was likely she was between thirty and forty. Aimi just looked exceptionally young because of her many hours of beauty care. She crossed her arms over her chest heatedly, "Besides, who's to say I want kids?"

Her mother feigned a stunned gasp, then her face became serious, "Honey, the right man will come along and change your mind. Trust me." Aimi looked at her knowingly, like she understood more of that phrase that she cared to let on. Tsukidori had always suspected that Aimi hadn't ever wanted kids, but Aimi never really talked about. In fact, aside from primping and encouraging her to find love early, she wasn't ever really there as a mother. It was because of this, she found it hard to believe Aimi wanted grandchildren. She was probably waiting for Tsukidori to leave home so Aimi could have the apartment to herself.

Tsukidori wanted to change the subject, quickly. This subject had already been exhausted on all ends. It was better to avoid it in any case. Children were out of the question.

"Couldn't you maybe put some clothes on? Please?" Tsukidori groaned, leaning down to rest her face on the counter. She was exasperated by her mother's antics. It was beyond embarrassing how open her mother was. She was often showing up with boys Tsukidori's age, trying to convince her to bare their children. It left Tsukidori dizzy with humiliation.

"Why? No one is here! This is my home. I'll walk naked if I want to." And with that her mother dropped the towel.

"Mom!" Tsukidori cried through gritted teeth. She groaned inwardly and left the counter. She roamed to the living room and laid on the couch. She listened to her mother making clunking noises around the kitchen. Probably preparing breakfast or coffee. Just then there was a knock at the door. Tsukidori opened her eyes, surprised. Wasn't it early for a house call? She sat up and looked over at her mother, still naked. "Mom, you're going to put some clothes on, right?" Tsukidori said slowly as though her mother didn't understand normal person words.

"Yeah, sure, uh-huh." Her mother mumbled.

Tsukidori hesitated. She would get dressed… right? She pursed her lips and held faith in her mother, hoping she'd have some decency today.

She reached the front door and opened it to reveal Shikamaru Nara.

"O-oh. Hello. Shikamaru." She greeted him, surprised by his appearance. It'd been quite some time since she thought about Shikamaru or even saw him. She was a year younger than him. He had become a Chunnin during his class's first exam, and he'd been the only one to pass, too. Tsukidori had become a Chunnin only last year along with Sakura, Ino, Choji, Hinata, and her two teammates. It was her first try at the exam and even though it didn't end as planned, she was still promoted. It was one of the best days of her life. She was so proud, she ran home to celebrate with her mother, but she wasn't there. She was out again. That night she celebrated alone in the kitchen with dango. It was both the best and worst day of her life.

"Yo." He looked down at her with a bored look in his eyes. His hands were in his pockets and he slouched. He looked like he would rather be somewhere than running errands for the Hokage.

"C-can I help you?" She asked. What was he doing here?

"It's a drag, but the Hokage would like us to leave today. There's been a development." Shikamaru drew in a lazy tone of voice, his gaze drifted upwards to the sky.

"Us?"

Just then Tsukidori's mother appeared in the towel. "Oh, is this a gentleman caller?!" She gushed. Tsukidori pushed against her mother, trying to keep her from the doorway.

Shikamaru's gazed snapped back to Tsukidori. Other than looking bored, his face didn't betray much of anything else.

"Mother!" Tsukidori's face paled and she shoved her mother away.

"But he's cute and he looks strong!" Her mother cooed from within the house.

Strong? The corner of Shikamaru's mouth curled up slightly.

"M-mom!" Tsukidori shouted. She felt her cheeks become hot. She stepped out of the house and closed the door. "Sorry about that."

"Tch." He blew it off. "It's a drag, but the mission you were assigned to is being moved up to today. I'm assigned to the mission as well."

"A drag?" Tsukidori asked quietly. Oh, that's right. Shikamaru was lazy.

"Y'know, a bother." He explained. "Hnng, this is getting tiresome."

Tsukidori furrowed her brows at Shikamaru, "Excuse you?"

"Women are so troublesome."

"I suppose you'd still be saying that after being reminded, if it weren't for women, you wouldn't exist?" She said, becoming infuriated.

"Eh, can't be helped. Listen, are you ready to go or not? This is taking too long."

"Well, I'm not ready yet. You can wait here while I gather my things." Her voice was flat and serious. If he wasn't going to be friendly, then neither was she. Tsukidori went to open the door but the door wouldn't budge. She turned to Shikamaru, her cheeks red, "Heh heh, must be stuck." Her voice strained on the last word as she gave the door a good push. There was a thud noises followed by a soft cry. She heard shuffling sounds from behind the door. Tsukidori tried again and the door opened with ease. She pressed herself against the door and opened it just enough to peek inside. "

Tsukidori's small house was in a small U shape. To reach her room, you had to go around through the kitchen and down a short hallway. Her mother's room was the opposite way, passed the front door. In the middle was the bathroom they shared. Tsukidori packed her sealed weapons, camping gear, and ration bars. Just as she was exiting, she stopped. Her eyes wavered on a silver necklace on her dresser. The chain was a thin and delicate shiny silver. The charm was an orb about 2 mm in diameter and it was an ugly brown. Four small pieces of silver held it in place like claws and silver was woven intricately behind it. The silver was pretty enough, but the gem was ugly and dull. Tsukidori grabbed it and squeezed. She sighed and closed her eyes. It was something her father bought for her before he died. It was the only thing she had that proved she once had more than what she had now. She decided to wear on the mission for good luck and left.

…

Tsukidori paced at the gate for the remainder of their mission teammates to arrive. Shikamaru, her, Choji, and Ino had been assigned to escort two important individuals through The Land of Tea. Tsukidori had been told the reason the mission was ranked so high was because the individuals carried a lot of weight within the presiding families of The Land of Tea. It was imperative they delivered the two safely through The Land of Fire and The Land of Tea. Tsunade always had a way of overreacting when it came to politics, where Tsukidori didn't see a reason to treat this mission so highly. Their stop was at the very end of the peninsula. The mission had been moved up due to this year's Chunnin exams approaching fast. Tsunade wanted Shikamaru back in time. In any case, Tsukidori was ready to leave. Her nerves were on fire with anticipation.

However, not only were Choji and Ino late but so were their charges.

"Ugh!" Tsukidori threw her hands up in the air.

Shikamaru was leaning against the open gate, his eyes closed. At Tsukidori's outburst, he opened them.

"It's not like them to be late, but I'm sure they're on their way." He said, joining Tsukidori in the middle of the gate. He was slouching in a way that made it seem like there was constantly a wall for him to lean on. It was baffling how he made lazy and bad posture look purposeful and cool. Tsukidori crossed her arms and tapped her foot, eyeing Shikamaru expectantly.

"Can you sit still for a second? Getting all anxious isn't going to make them get here any sooner." He looked down his nose at her, then looked at the clouds. The young kunoichi was constantly in motion and her anxiety was coming off in thick waves. It was enough to make Shikamaru even feel anxious. Tsukidori had elected not to respond to Shikamaru. Constantly moving, but quiet.

The sky was bright blue and the sun was warm. It was a perfect day to cloud watch.. And nap.

Tsukidori followed his gaze to the clouds. Her hand went to the necklace around her neck and her fingers fiddled with it. A noise some ways away distracted her. She looked over to see kids playing.

They were all girls, and two of them were gently teasing a third singing the letters to 'kissing'.

The game triggered a memory of Tsukidori that was long forgotten.

k-i-s-s-i-n-g!

Tsuki's friend's sang, forming a circle around her. Moments ago, she tripped over her own feet. One of the boys that she hung out with caught by her hand. Tsuki looked at their joined hands and blushed bright red. It became apparent to her other peers that she was holding hands with a boy! The other girls had begun to snicker, 'ooh'-ing at the two. The young boys smirked and Choji said jokingly "Shikamaru has a girlfriend!" He laughed, clutching his stomach.

The boy released her hands, "Tch. I was just helping her. She's not my girlfriend." He drew, a hint of indignation in his tone. He placed his hands behind his head and turning from her.

She blushed even harder and quickly said a thank you before dashing to rejoin the other girls.

They were so young back then.

Her eyes went to Shikamaru next her. Suddenly, his presence seemed overwhelmingly close and she took a few steps away. Her cheeks took on a rosey hue and she looked away.

Shikamaru looked at her out of the corner of his eye. What she was moving away and blushing for? Did he smell?

She recalled wistfully how close her and the other shinobi had been when they were just children playing ninja in the fields. Once her friends were old enough for the academy, things began to change. She didn't attend the academy until a year later. She knew that bonds she formed as a child wouldn't mean anything now, but she couldn't help but feel loss a little. She hadn't realized how lonely she'd been. Even though she had been going on missions with her former teammates, they were never really that close. Her training had really sucked up a lot of her time. She missed the friendship she'd had with Sakura, Ino, and Hinata. She missed how simple things had been.

A loud boisterous noise had taken Tsukidori from her thoughts. Choji and Ino had arrived with their charges. The noise must have been the shorter one, because he was still being loud and defiant.

"I don't need escorts!" He shouted in Shikamaru's face. The taller one looked vexed, his face hidden in his palm. Tsukidori stepped closer. She looked down at the young man.

"Listen, it doesn't matter if you think you don't need us. We were ordered to escort you by our Hokage. You can quiet down and do this the easy way or you can make this hard." Shikamaru's voice was hard and angry.

Choji noticed Tsukidori and looked at her with narrowed eyes. He didn't immediately recognize the brown haired kunoichi. Tsukidori smiled weakly. In the back of her mind, she was a little upset he didn't recognize her. Ino tapped her chin, "I remember you, Tsuki!" Ino hadn't called Tsukidori by her childhood nickname in a long time. "Actually, it's Tsukidori now." She corrected warmly, glad Ino remembered their friendship.

Choji's eye lit up, "Oh right! You're Shikamaru's girlfriend!"

"What?!" Shikamaru's eyes widened and his turned face red.

Tsukidori froze in embarrassment. So, she wasn't the only one who remembered that tease.

"C'mon now, Shikamaru, don't tell me you don't remember."

Shikamaru calmed down and tapped his chin, "Now that you mention it, I do recall that. You wouldn't stop teasing me for weeks." He finished by scowling at Choji.

Tsukidori laughed uneasily. The shorter charge, a young boy with long brown hair and brown eyes, was still fuming and being defiant.

She turned to him, "Hey, kid, why not think of us as friends who just want to keep you company?" she said, looking down at him. His older companion looked at her a little shocked. "What's your name, by the way?"

The shorter one stopped complaining and looked at Tsukidori with curiosity. "My name is Norinj."

"What a cool name, Norinj. Why don't you tell me more about yourself while we start going?" Tsukidori smiled at the young boy. The boy looked at her with marvel and then unloaded about how cool he was and how strong he was going to be. They walked ahead of the group, leaving them looking bewildered.

"I've never met anyone good with him like that." The taller one, an older gentleman with weathered eyes and dull brown hair pulled into a bun, said to the three ninja escorting him. "By the way, I'm Yun."

Shikamaru scratched the back of his head. He felt maybe he underestimated Tsukidori's presence.


	2. 2 Gladiolas

a/n - aaah, this should have been up by now, but well its here now. The revised and edited version of chapter 2. I was yelled at by my beta for not naming the bad guysss.. Sorryss... As always, reviews and favs and follows are appreciated :

no ownership is claimed over the naruto franchise

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"C'mon. Move it along." Shikamaru coaxed, his voice smooth and cool but his his brows were furrowed impatiently.

Tsukidori and Norinj had stopped to marvel at some unique flowers. They were tall, supported by long, thick stems. The flowers started about three quarters up the stem and blossomed at the top. The petals were reminiscent of lilies, but the edges were ruffled. The color was a beautiful two-toned white and pink accented with a warm golden color. "They're so beautiful, though, Shikamaru." Tsukidori produced a kunai from her gear and cut one at an angle. She stood up and presented it to Ino.

Ino blushed, "They're gladiolas." Ino explained, putting them to her nose, "It's a pity they don't have a smell for what they symbolize."

Tsukidori blink and tilted her head, "What do they symbolize?"

"Passion." Ino said, holding up the flower to the sun, examining it, "The recipient of a flower like this would mean the world to the giver. The giver would be expressing infatuation and passion." Ino offered the flower back to Tsukidori.

Tsukidori wasn't sure that infatuation and meaning the world to someone were the same thing. She took her bag off, unzipped it, and put the flower in it. Later, she'd ask Ino how to plant and grow them in her own yard.

Norinj had been listening from his spot next to the growth of gladiolas and decided to pick one. He walked up to Tsukidori and tapped her arm. When she turned to him, he presented the flower to her. "Here you go, Tsukidori." He had a wide smile and his eyes were closed tight.

Tsukidori crinkled her face and tried to smile, "Th-thanks, kid."

Choji was beside himself laughing, much to Tsukidori's chagrin. Ino glared at him, "Knock it off Choji! This is so sweet! Tsukidori has found her first love." She turned to her Tsukidori and smiled apologetically.

Just as she thought Ino was on her side...She turned to Shikamaru for help, her eye brows raised hopefully.

"Don't look at me. You got yourself into that mess."

Norinj was smiling proudly at having acquired a 'girlfriend.' Tsukidori turned to him fully and squatted to his level. "Now, you do understand that - " Just then, Yun appeared behind Norinj, pleading to her with his eyes, waving his hands back and forth in front of his neck. She swallowed, her eyes back to Norinj, who looked at her with wide, waiting eyes. "You understand that I have to go back to the Leaf village when we get to your village, right, so we can't be together?"

Norinj looked at her with a glint in his eyes, he swept around and pointed at himself with his thumb, "I know! That's why I'm going to train to be a ninja like you! I'll become strong and travel to the Leaf village myself and sweep you off your feet!" He spouted dramatically with enthusiasm. Tsukidori looked at Yun with a sarcastic smile. Yun smiled sheepishly, then turned away whistling. Norinj had done a complete three-sixty, but the peacefulness was very fragile. One wrong word, and he'd throw a tantrum. Earlier Tsukidori had accidentally ignored him while listening to Shikamaru's instructions to find firewood, and Norinj had taken to trying to attack Shikamaru. The young kid formed attachments fast. Choji and Ino teased they'd have to leave Tsukidori, much to her dismay, with Norinj otherwise it might start a war.

Choji nudged Shikamaru, bemused, "Haha, hey Shikamaru, you've got competition now!"

Simultaneously, Tsukidori and Norinj whipped bewildered eyes at Choji, "What?" Both of their faces were red, but Norinj's face was scrunched into a scowled and Tsukidori's mouth was wide open. She was becoming tired of being the target of all the teasing.

Shikamaru, seemingly unfazed, turned to face away from the group, "As if."

He hummed lowly, almost a growl and started walking forward again. The rest would catch up or they wouldn't. He waved his hand behind him, his last warning to get going. They'd been traveling for five days now together. The constant time together had lent a lot of time for Ino and Tsukidori to reconnect. It left Tsukidori feeling more comfortable which allowed for her to emerge out of her own shell. At first, she was quiet, not allowing herself many words. But Ino had become persistent. The B-Ranked mission felt more like a C and it was honestly kind of enjoyable.

Yet, Shikamaru had been reserved. Although he was usually grumpy and quiet, he wasn't known to be stand-offish and unfriendly. Aside from his outburst of laughing today, he'd seemed lost in thought and on guard. He knew the real reason Lady Fifth had sent them early and why their charges needed so many shinobi to escort them. They were carrying precious cargo. Yun Norinj both carried with them two pieces of a stone. Details of their mission to escort Yun and Norinj had fallen into the wrong hands. Tsunade thought spontaneously moving up the trip one day would throw bandits or looters off their trail. She even advised Shikamaru to take the longer way around. Shikamaru, however, wasn't convinced. He was expecting an ambush any moment, and standing so still felt dangerous.

Tsukidori, as though she felt his anxiety, fell in step with Shikamaru. She didn't say anything at first. Shikamaru looked at her sideways, uttering a quiet, almost inaudible, 'hum.' He moved his hands from the back of his head and stuffed them in his pockets, straightening his posture.

"Is something bothering you?" She rubbed her arm with her other hand, her eyes at the ground. She was genuinely curious, especially if it pertained to the mission.

"It's too easy." He confided. The Hokage had instructed him to keep particular details to himself, however he figured confiding his own worries wasn't breaking any rules.

"That doesn't sound like a problem for you!" She scrunched her face, then smiled at him, bemused.

"Heh, I suppose, but it just doesn't feel right."

Tsukidori realized he was being serious, "Sorry. Truthfully, I've been feeling the same way. Is it bad I'm a little disappointed?"

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, "How do you mean?"

"Well, it's just..." Her voice trailed off. Tsukidori bit her lip, hesitant. She wanted to open up to someone other than her mom but she was worried her words would be lost on Shikamaru. She was worried he wouldn't really care all that much. A glance behind her revealed that Ino and Choji were walking several paces behind them out of earshot. She returned her gaze to Shikamaru to find he wasn't looking at her, but looking forward. She decided not to say anything, he obviously wasn't interested.

When she neglected to finish her sentence, he looked back her to see that she had shrunk a way. Her arms were hugging herself and her gaze was at the ground. "You wouldn't be here if you weren't useful." He closed his eyes and sighed. _Women are troublesome._

Tsukidori's eyes widened at his sudden words, but she kept them at the ground. She felt a weird mixture of gratitude and confusion. She wasn't sure how Shikamaru was so perceptive to her feelings or how he knew exactly what to say. Then she recalled how intelligent Shikamaru was regarded to be. She wasn't aware he was so smart with emotions, too. She gave him a close-eyed smile, but didn't feel like anymore words were needed on the subject.

Almost as if waiting on queue, the ground beneath them began to shake and gave way in front of them. Shikamaru had gotten out of the way quickly enough. Tsukidori let out a yelp as she had begun slipping forward over the edge of the chasm that had ripped the earth in two. Just when she thought she was done for, she stopped moving. Completely. She no longer had control of her body. She began to back up slowly and once she was a safe distance from the edge, she could move again. She turned around to see Shikamaru had used his shadow imitation jutsu to save her. She smiled in thanks and turned her attention to her comrades. Ino and Choji were in protective stances in front of their charges. Beyond them were three individuals.

Shikamaru groaned and advanced on the three. The attacker in the middle was the largest. It was almost humanly impossible how big he was. There was this mean but intelligent look to him that sent shivers down Tsukidori's spine. The other two, one on each side of the burly man, were thin and small. One was dressed in red and purple garments with gold adornments. The other was blue and green. They smiled pleasantly.

The man in the middle smirked, "I'm Kyoji and these are my twins, Hiraku and Hiraki. We're just here for the relic pieces." His voice was gravely and serious.

Everyone but Shikamaru's faces twisted in confusion. "What relic pieces?" Tsukidori straightened from a defensive stance to a normal one. If there was a misunderstanding, maybe she wouldn't have to fight after all. She glanced at Shikamaru, whose face was unreadable.

Kyoji growled, his face scrunched up, "You know what I'm talking about!" He roared, and stomped on the ground, it began to shake. Tsukidori found to keep her footing. "Hand them over the easy way. Don't make this hard!"

"The easy way would be you turning around and walking away." Choji growled back at him, causing the man in the middle to snap his attention Choji.

"Now that wouldn't be fun!" Kyoji sighed, "Your decision." He charged on Choji. Quickly Shikamaru signed the shadow imitation jutsu. Kyoji stopped in his tracks, giving Ino time to collect Yun and Norinj. Kyoji turned his attention to Shikamaru who had him locked in place with his jutsu. The twins, Hiraku and Hiraki, charged at Shikamaru, signing with their hands.

Tsukidori had to think quickly. She didn't have time to reach Shikamaru to defend him, but she could use her genjutsu from here. However, it wouldn't work on two people without draining her chakra significantly.

She called Shikamaru's name causing both him and Kyoji looked at her. She already had her hands in the appropriate sign. She looked Kyoji in the eyes and he dropped his head limply. Just in time, as Shikamaru was able to jump and dodge out of the way of the twins' double-attack. Choji took the opportunity to attack. He shouted his expansion jutsu and grew several times his original size. His fist balled up and came swinging down on Kyoji. The ground below Tsukidori gave way and she leapt into the air.

Tsukidori stumbled backwards, her head throbbing. Chakra control was something she was good at, but Kyoji must have been resistant to genjutsu. It required a great deal of chakra to contain all his senses. Choji returned to normal size, and he took a place at the side of her. Kyoji sprung forth from the crater created by Choji's fist. Choji ran to Shikamaru's aid, using his Human Bullet Tank on the two frozen twins.

Tsukidori looked straight at Kyoji and decided to rely on taijutsu and ninjutsu. She sprung in the air, relying on her smaller size to aid in her speed against him. She expected him to be slow because of his immense size. She leapt in the air and aimed a fist at his face. He went to block and she used the momentum to spin, bring her leg up to swing from the side, rather than the middle. No! He was fast and had grabbed her leg at the last minute and had begun swinging her through the air. The force of the air pulling her hair from it's loose ponytail. The force at which she was swung, and consequently thrown, dislocated her knee. She screamed in pain as she flew through the air. She landed roughly and rolled several feet. Kyoji ran at her with unparalleled speed. The sound of his feet hitting the ground like thunder in her ears. He picked her up by the shirt and glared into her eyes. He didn't pick up on the genjutsu? Or was he arrogant enough to believe she was too weak to use it again.

"Put me down!" She struggled against him, throwing fists at his bulky arm.

"If that's what you want!" He roared in laughter. He braced to slam her into the ground, but unbeknownst to her, a black portal had opened beneath her.

She laughed back, "You're so dumb!" He looked at her confused, slightly scared. His hand released his grip on her, and he stumbled back and fell with a thud. She'd caught him in her genjutsu again. _Yes!_ She mentally screeched. As she descended, Shikamaru jumped to her aid, but they both fell through the black hole.

* * *

The hole opened up in the sky. The two ninja descended upon the ground, free falling into the dense woods. Shikamaru reached out and grabbed Tsukidori by the arm and pulled her in. He wrapped his arms around her and spun so his back was towards the earth. As they descended upon the tree's, branches began slowing down their descent. Nevertheless, the landing was hard and disorientating. Their bodies hurt from the multiple impacts from the limbs of the trees. Tsukidori's ears were ringing and her head pounded. It felt like the Earth had been dropped on her, rather than her on it.. As she came to, Tsukidori realized what Shikamaru had done for her. She felt grateful for Shikamaru catching her fall, but at the same time she couldn't help but feel like a useless damsel in distress. Shikamaru groaned in pain and coughed, causing Tsukidori to scramble off of him. She tried to stand, but the adrenaline had worn off, the pain from her dislocated knee came rushing at her like a wave. She howled and clutched her leg. She had exceptional chakra control but never bothered to learn medical ninjutsu. Silently, she cursed herself for her own laziness.

She focused her attention on Shikamaru who was not only injured from fall sky, but also low on chakra from the fight. He tried to sit up and she crawled closer to assist him.

"Easy now." She warned, her voice low and soft.

"I'm fine." He protested.

"What happened? Where are we?" She asked.

"You didn't see it? One of the twins used some sort of transportation jutsu while me and Choji were taking down the other. You used your genjutsu on Kyoji just as it opened." He explain, grunting as he adjusted himself to lean against a tree. _So, they fell through together, then_.

"Did you get a good look before we hit the trees?" She asked, she had no idea what was going on and didn't think to but she hoped with his superior intellect, he might have seen some distinguishing landmarks.

Shikamaru nodded and pointed north, "We need to go that way."

"I don't understand." Tsukidori began.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at her.

"Why would they transport me all the way here? What use would that be?"

"They just wanted what Yun and Norinj were carrying. Getting you out of the way was good enough, I suppose." Shikamaru explained.

"I see." She said, tapping her chin in thought. It must be a combo attack between the two to quickly get pesky opponents out of the way. Tsukidori knew there was something she wasn't being told about the mission. She looked him the eyes, annoyed she'd been left out of important details. "What are they carrying? Is that the relic that Kyoji referred to?"

"Each of them are entrusted with a piece of a stone that possesses power. I suspect those ninja would use them to become stronger."

Tsukidori leaned back against the tree. It didn't make sense to have two halves of one powerful stone to travel together. And what kind of stone? What kind of powers?

"There are three pieces. One has been entrusted to the Leaf village." It's like he could read minds.

"Is that what they were doing in the village to begin with?" She asked.

Shikamaru nodded, "The third piece is the most important. Without it, the other two pieces are more or less useless."

"That doesn't make sense, though. Those three could never hope to penetrate the leaf village and get the third piece. What were they planning to do with the other two?" Tsukidori was becoming annoyed at the bandits apparent stupidity.

"You said it yourself. Kyoji was so dumb. So were his lackys." Shikamaru chuckled, smirking with his eyes closed. "We should rest here."

Just then, Tsukidori remembered something. She twisted her body to pull her bag off. She reached in and produced the gladiola flower from earlier. As she suspected, it was squashed and mangled from the fall. She should have known it wouldn't survive in her bag like that. It was a good thing it wasn't the flower itself she was trying to keep, but the seeds it held.


	3. 3 Transported

When Tsukidori awoke, Shikamaru was still sleeping against the tree. Her knee ached to hell and back. She knew if she had any hope of healing, she would need to put it back in place. She gripped below her knee, and braced herself. She closed her eyes tight and just before she went to jerk her leg into place, she felt gentle hands on hers. She opened her eyes to see Shikamaru was crouched in front of her looking at her leg decidedly.

"Let me help." He said, handing her a large stick. "Bite on this."

She looked at the stick with wide eyes.

"Don't be such a girl and take it."

She narrowed her eyes at him for the comment, but complied and bit down on the stick.

"Ready?"

Tsukidori shook her head yes.

"On three." Shikamaru warned. "One." And with that, Shikamaru applied force to her leg and with a loud snap, it popped back into place. Tsukidori screamed through gritted teeth, and bit down on the stick. Her hands went for her knee and she fell over in pain.

She looked up at Shikamaru, infuriated. "I thought you said three! That was one!"

Shikamaru turned and shrugged, "You would have tensed up on three. I needed you to stay relaxed."

Smart, but she should have expected nothing less. Sighing, she tried to stand but her knee was still in a lot of pain. It felt numb and she found herself unable to walk. She went to give him an apologetic look but found he had turned away already.

He was looking ahead in the forest. They needed to get moving but he couldn't remember exactly how far away he had seen the river they were traveling near. He needed to get a better look.

"Stay here, I'll be right back."

Tsukidori watched in disbelief as he leapt into the trees with ease. He was in bad shape last night, how was he fully recovered already?

Shikamaru grunted in pain as he landed on the branch. Maybe he should rest more? He carried on, high into the tree until he came out on top. His eyes searched for the river he saw early, finding it north just as he recalled. The long tendril of water snaked adjacently to the road they were originally on. It shouldn't take them more than a day and a half to get back to it, but then they'd have to find the rest of their squad, hoping they were able to keep Yun and Norinj safe.

Tsukidori watched as Shikamaru rejoined her on the ground. She admired his strength and resilience. She hadn't realized how much Shikamaru had grown as a ninja. She remembered him being especially lazy. She even remembered him saying he wanted to be a ninja so he could do whatever he wanted, which was nothing. . She smiled at him without realizing it.

Shikamaru caught Tsukidori smiling at him. He returned the smile, but it made Tsukidori freeze and look away. Did he do something wrong?

Tsukidori tried to stand again, but her leg was useless.

"You can't walk yet. We should rest a while longer to build up strength. We have about a day and a half if we don't stop."

A breeze blew through and ruffled the foliage above them. A shiver ran down her back and she pulled herself in for warmth.

Shikamaru sighed, "What a drag."

He sat next to her and draped an arm around her, offering warmth.

Tsukidori awkwardly scooted a bit of distance between her and Shikamaru a little.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at her. If she didn't want his help then he wouldn't give it.

Her thoughts went back to the battle. Anger and uselessness enveloping her. She felt like a failure. It was her fault they were here and the mission's success was in jeopardy. She scowled and pulled her legs into herself. She'd been working and training hard to prove herself. She finally gets an opportunity to do it and she fails miserably. She shook her head roughly and rested it on her knees. How was she going to prove her worth if she couldn't hold up in battle? Suddenly, she growled in frustration and punched the ground. She could feel herself shaking and the urge to cry bubbled up in her stomach. A metallic taste invaded her mouth. She closed her eyes tight and shrunk herself into a ball.

Shikamaru jumped. He had been watching her internal battle but hadn't expected her outburst just then. He pursed his lips and put a hand to her shoulder. She flinched at the touch but did not move otherwise. "It's no use getting upset now."

She looked up at him. Her eyes were red and her eyebrows drooped from exhaustion.

"Mission isn't over yet. You need to focus on it."

Her eyes widened at his word. Then furrowed them in determination. "Sorry if I startled you before. If you've rested enough we should go now."

Shikamaru smirked, he felt a warmth grow in his stomach.

"Alright, it's a drag but you're right." He said, and with that he got down in front of Tsukidori.

"Heh? What are you doing?" Her mouth twisted up in confusion.

"You still can't walk. You'll just slow us down." His words came out matter of factly, and they bruised her ego.

* * *

She felt Shikamaru come to a stop just as they emerged from the woods. His grip on her relaxed and he let her down. The wind had picked up out in the open. Her hair whipped wildly and threatened to tear off.

"What are we stopping for?" She asked, looking around. From here Tsukidori could see the vast open fields looming before them. And beyond that, another line of trees began. Bodies of water and rivers snaked through the open wilderness like arteries. Somewhere out there, the road they'd been traveling on as well their squad members and their charges.

"Your hair is annoying." Shikamaru's voice drew her from her thoughts. She looked at him, his hand out stretched with a little white band between his first finger and his thumb. "You should put it up so I can see." She looked at his face and stared, her eyes wide and her eyebrows near her hairline. His hair was down! This was the first time Tsukidori had ever seen his hair down before and she had to admit to herself he looked pretty handsome. Not that he wasn't handsome before, but it was different. The difference was so shocking it forced her to really see him.. and she found herself liking what she saw.

"Would you stop gawking and take the tie." His voice held a hint of irritability but there was a smile dancing in his eyes.

She hadn't realized her mouth was open. Embarrassed, she regained composure and took the tie. "You know what? I'm surprised your hair isn't stuck in that pineapple position." Was her retort. He sighed at her, "Could you be more troublesome?" Her face fell. She knew he didn't mean it maliciously but it hurt. She wasn't expecting a comeback of that magnitude. Her ego was still bruised from her earlier internal battle followed by having to be carried by him. He looked at her from the corner of his eyes as he turned his back to her. She put her hair up as Shikamaru crouched down in front of her. She climbed back on his back and they began to make their way down the cliff.

She thought about what Shikamaru said as he leapt from ledge to ledge. She felt like a burden, and her arms around his neck relaxed in defeat. Ugh! They came to an edge that was hard to leap down from. He gently set her on the ground and climbed down, then outstretched his arm toward her. She slid herself over the edge within his reach and he grabbed her waist to help hoist her down. As her feet touched the ground, her hands came to rest on his shoulders. He looked her in the eyes.

She blushed. Why was he staring? His face softened, and he groaned in defeat, "You're not annoying. " He admitted reluctantly.

"O-oh." She faltered, then recovered, and in false bravado, she retorted, "I know. " She pulled away from him and stuck her nose in the air. Shikamaru wasn't going to live this one down.

He groaned again, "Let's get going. We need to find the rest of the team."

* * *

By the time they reached the bottom of the cliff, it had become obvious to Tsukidori that Shikamaru was becoming fatigued. She offered to try to walk with the support if his shoulder but he shrugged it off. This was 'easier.' He ran through the field briskly, clearing it within an hour or so. The sun had begun to set on the horizon, but it didn't make a difference, the forest was shrouded in darkness, the leaves like a roof that let no light in. They stopped just at the tree line.

"We should stop and rest for the night. We aren't going to make it anywhere all tired like this." Tsukidori suggested.

Shikamaru yawned in agreement. With Tsukidori leaning on him, they trudged a little further into the woods before setting down in a small clearing. Shikamaru advised against starting a fire. They didn't know who could be lurking in the shadows. Instead, he produced a blanket from a sealed scroll. Tsukidori cursed herself for previously losing her bag. Unfortunately for Tsukidori, that meant freezing, for the sun had set and taken any lingering warmth with her.

Shikamaru leaned against the tree, his blanket draped lazily over him, and was already drifting off to sleep. Tsukidori stared at him. How could he go to sleep so easily? She sighed, and limped over to take a seat next him. She held herself tightly and shivered, pulling in her knees close. It was so cold!

She felt a movement from Shikamaru's direction, an arm snaked around her shoulder and pulled her close. She heard a zipper unzip. She stiffened and blushed. _What was happening?!_

"Relax, it's my vest." She heard a hint of amusement in his voice. She relaxed and let him pull her into his warmth. He had unzipped his flak jacket because it would be easier to generate body heat the closer they were. The vest wasn't big enough to zip up around her, so he held her tightly, and pulled the blanket over them. She straddled him, and rested her head on his shoulder. She felt her cheeks become hot. It was such an intimate position.. A feeling her stomach, like she was falling, alarmed her. Why did he make her feel this way?

"Relax." He said again, this time a bit annoyed.

So, he could feel her heart racing. Funny.. she hadn't noticed. She tried to relax her muscles and slow her heart. She tried to let herself melt into him.. but she could hear his heart beating, too. It matched her own. Was he scared?

That feeling of falling again her stomach only worse. She snaked her arms inside his vest and around his sides and squeezed tight. It was a risky move, but she was okay with risks, sometimes. Perhaps, in her exhaustion, she wasn't feeling quite herself. If she was being honest with her, there wasn't much for Tsukidori to go on, but she also could say she was sure Shikamaru wasn't in the habit of holding random girls close like that. Much to Tsukidori's relief, and delight, he returned the squeeze and then, she melted into him.

* * *

The sun peaked through the foliage. The dappling warmth rested on Tsukidori's face, waking her. Her eyes fluttered open. At some point in the night, they had shifted to stretch out on the grass. The flak jacket had been discarded and blanket was wrapped around Tsukidori's legs. She was lying next to Shikamaru, resting her head on his arm. Shikamaru was still sleeping heavily. For a moment, she studied his face. He was sleeping so soundly, it felt like a crime to wake him up. However much she didn't want to wake him, she had to. She shifted her weight to peel herself off as subtly as possible. She sat up, shedding Shikamaru's blanket, and tested her leg. The pain has subsided significantly. Delighted, she stood up and bounced. Yes! She fist-pumped quietly, now she could hold her own weight.

On the ground, Shikamaru stirred, but stayed sleeping. Tsukidori kneeled next to him, leaning over his face. "Hey, Shikamaru. Hey." She prodded him gently, and he brushed her away.

"Don't want to." He slurred in his sleep.

She pushed him roughly and he recoiled in defense. "I'm awake now!" he exclaimed. "Troublesome woman." He grumbled, rubbing his eyes. His body was still sore and her roughness wasn't doing him any favors. He surveyed Tsukidori, who was perched on her knees. The sun was still young, the nip of the cold night was lingering. "It's so early." He observed through a long yawn.

"Yes, but we need to get going!" Tsukidori excitedly rose to her feet, pumping her fist above her head.

"You have too much energy for me right now." He complained and laid back down. He found himself warmly comparing her enthusiasm to that of Rock Lee.

Tsukidori squatted down and prodded him again. "Hey." She mumbled. "Let's go."

Shikamaru sighed, "If we must."

Tsukidori nodded.

And with that, they rose to their feet and, with grace, leapt from tree branch to tree branch.

The small journey back was mostly quiet. That was until Shikamaru noticed Tsukidori's gaze. She appeared deep in contemplation, so much so, she didn't notice Shikamaru stop in front of her and she barreled into him. They tumbled to the ground below the branches, Shikamaru once again breaking Tsukidori's fall, this time unintentionally.

"Don't you watch where you're going?" He growled, rubbing his head.

Tsukidori moved and sat up, looking at him, "Sorry. I was lost in thought."

Shikamaru didn't move, the effort wasn't worth it in that moment. He sighed. "Staring at me?"

Tsukidori blushed, and blurted defensively: "I just happened to rest my eyes in your direction. I wasn't staring _at_ you." She wasn't going to tell him what she had really been thinking about. The night they spent together… How do they explain that? It wasn't intimate but it was close and she felt like it meant _something._ But did it? Did they need to talk about it? Was there anything to talk about? She felt incredibly awkward, as though there was an elephant in the room. She wanted to address it, but didn't know how. Honestly, she was afraid of rejection, but she wasn't sure what of.

Shikamaru chuckled, "Sure. You like what you see!" He teased lazily. His words followed a yawn. "It's a drag, but we need to get moving again."

It was a few more hours of silence when they came to the road they'd previously been at. They were further up the road than where the fight ensued.

"We don't really have any way of telling where they are." Tsukidori scanned the horizon in the direction of the Leaf village.

"We should assume they continued on. Either they would need to seek medical attention or they'd continue the mission." Shikamaru stared in the opposite direction of Tsukidori, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

"They wouldn't try to look for us?"

"It's a drag, but yes. Orders are orders." He said, shrugging before shoving his hands in his pockets. "Besides, they wouldn't know where to look or if we were even alive. Their best bet would to have been to finish the mission."

"Assuming they lived as well."

Shikamaru uttered an audible, "Hum." before moving in the direction of the village.

Tsukidori sighed. Her and Shikamaru trudged on in the direction of the village they'd been sent to. Hopefully, they'd catch up with Choji and Ino soon.

* * *

On the darkening horizon, Tsukidori thought she saw figures walking. Her heart skipped a beat. It'd been almost three days. If these were her friends, she didn't know what she'd do! She was ecstatic. Her paced quickened, leaving an annoyed Shikamaru behind her. When the figures came into focus, Tsukidori's heart dropped. They weren't her friends. She called out, "Hey!" and waved to call attention to herself. The figures stopped and turned around. They were just civilians, probably traveling between villages. Tsukidori came to a stop in front of them.

"Yo!" She greeted. "I'm Tsukidori from the Hidden Leaf Village."

An older gentleman stepped forward and extend his hand for a shake, "Greetings Tsukidori, my name is Shiu. Hidden Leaf Village, you say? You have the same headband as the other group of ninja that came through here about a day ago."

Tsukidori's heart soared! "Yes! They came this way? There were four of them?"

The old man nodded, confused. Shikamaru had just begun to catch up when Tsukidori took off.

Shikamaru sighed, "She means well. Thank you and safe travels." He couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm, but it was becoming annoying how much energy she had. He took off after her.

"Maybe they already completed the mission? Maybe they're on their way back, now?" Tsukidori suggested through breaths as Shikamaru caught up with her. He didn't say anything, but he did look at her before looking back ahead. The sun was almost below the horizon at this point and he was thinking they could probably make it to the village within the hour. Either way, they'd see what came of their friends somehow.

Tsukidori gasped, "I see Choji!"

Shikamaru focused, and sure enough, several meters ahead Choji and Ino were standing, waving at them.

"Ino! Choji! Boy, am I glad to see you?" Tsukidori smiled wide as she came up on the two. She bent over and panted for a second before looking at Ino with relief.

Shikamaru fell into place next to Tsukidori and waved cooly at Choji. "Yo."

"What happened to you guys?" Ino asked. "You guys fell into the ground and disappeared? We couldn't even sense your chakra."

Shikamaru closed his eyes and cocked an eyebrow, "Tsukidori got herself dropped through some sort of transportation jutsu."

Tsukidori frowned and looked at Shikamaru with wide, angry eyes. "So did you! Ugh, forget it." Shikamaru seemed unphased by her response. "Ino, tell us what happened after we disappeared."

"Well, you see, I got Norinj and Yun out of the way and came back to help but you guys were gone. The big, Kyoji or whatever, was knocked out cold. And without him the twins didn't see to know which way was up and which was down. They hightailed it out of there, so Choji and I did as well." She paused and rubbed her sheepishly, "Sorry we didn't look for you. We thought Shikamaru would want us to complete the mission."

Tsukidori reached over and put a hand on Ino's shoulder, "Did you?"

"Yeah, Norinj and Yun are safe back in the village. We'd been looking for you all afternoon. That's why we're out here." Choji explained.

"I supposed we'll stay in the village for the night before heading back home tomorrow?" Shikamaru drew lazily before yawning.

"I'm so ready to be home now!" Tsukidori groaned.

* * *

a/n: I'm trying to keep all the chapters around the same word count, but this ran longer than intended, so if it feels cut off thats why, lol. Also, I know the summary says this is a ShikaxOc fic and thus far has been built up for that, this chapter included, but I have written ahead already a few chapters. And some of the scenes with Kiba - well I'm just liking them better and gaining more muse for KibaxOc, so I'm sorry if this ends being a love triangle or KibaxOc fic when you might have been looking for a ShikaxOc fic, lol. Anyways, fav and review ;


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